Anyone here from the Alaska coast?

[Revelation_Drones]

Hello,

We’re taking an Alaska cruise in September & I’m wondering if there’s anywhere along the coast I can fly. Looking at Sky Vector, it looks like most of the coast is wildlife protected.

Thanks
Bryan

 

[aerialnorthwest]

Where specifically in Alaska?

 

[Revelation_Drones]

We’re stopping in Juneau, Ketchikan & Sitka.

 

[Phantomrain.org]

We’re stopping in Juneau, Ketchikan & Sitka.

We have a ton of clients up there , you should be in for a Treat like no other , just follow that river to OZ that is the land of the Wonder, and be on the look out for are favorite singer JEWEL ,

Phantomrain.org
Gear to fly in the Rain. Land on the River,

 

[moldorf]

here is a page on Alaska drone laws:

Drone Laws in Alaska (2023) - UAV Coach

looks pretty similar to Federal rules

I lived in Juneau in the 80's so it has been a long time since I've been there. If you're arriving on a cruise ship, I'd say there will be far too many people around the city itself to fly with any consideration for others

I'm looking at the Geo Zone map for Juneau:



that eliminates a lot of the area near where cruise ships dock and disembark. If you have a rented car to can head direct south from Juneau city limits. It used to go about 4 or 5 miles. You can also cross the bridge to Douglas Island and head south to avoid the geo zone

heading north, you might be able to find some flying over the glacier but you'll never recover your drone if you crash. Not a chance

and the Glacier Highway travels 20 miles or so north of the Valley, which is about 8-9 miles north of the city. Looks like the geo zone ends a little before Auke Bay. Lots of fiords and bays along that road. But many of those bays have homes and when I lived there people were really protective of their property

mainly though, at least for Juneau, if you're on foot I'd say the only decent chance for considerate and unobtrusive droning would be a long hike south. And it rains a lot in SE Alaska....a lot

 

[okw]

Maybe @akdrone can give you some suggestions.

 

[akdrone]

here is a page on Alaska drone laws:

Drone Laws in Alaska (2023) - UAV Coach

looks pretty similar to Federal rules

I lived in Juneau in the 80's so it has been a long time since I've been there. If you're arriving on a cruise ship, I'd say there will be far too many people around the city itself to fly with any consideration for others

I'm looking at the Geo Zone map for Juneau:

View attachment 159281

that eliminates a lot of the area near where cruise ships dock and disembark. If you have a rented car to can head direct south from Juneau city limits. It used to go about 4 or 5 miles. You can also cross the bridge to Douglas Island and head south to avoid the geo zone

heading north, you might be able to find some flying over the glacier but you'll never recover your drone if you crash. Not a chance

and the Glacier Highway travels 20 miles or so north of the Valley, which is about

Where specifically in Alaska?

View attachment 159279

8-9 miles north of the city. Looks like the geo zone ends a little before Auke Bay. Lots of fiords and bays along that road. But many of those bays have homes and when I lived there people were really protective of their property

mainly though, at least for Juneau, if you're on foot I'd say the only decent chance for considerate and unobtrusive droning would be a long hike south. And it rains a lot in SE Alaska....a lot

Hello,

We’re taking an Alaska cruise in September & I’m wondering if there’s anywhere along the coast I can fly. Looking at Sky Vector, it looks like most of the coast is wildlife protected.

Thanks
Bryan

Hello,

We’re taking an Alaska cruise in September & I’m wondering if there’s anywhere along the coast I can fly. Looking at Sky Vector, it looks like most of the coast is wildlife protected.

Thanks
Bryan

I don't know what Sky Vector is but the only places you have to consult in terms of legally flying within the airspace (taking off itself can be subject to local laws) is B4UFly (Aircontrol) and DJI's Flysafe website to actually be able to launch if you are in an areas that needs permission. Most of the coastline is entirely free to fly as long as you are not within a Red no-fly zone. On Moldorf's map of the Juneau area it would be easy to get permission within the Blue space and that could be done days or weeks ahead of time. Many cruise ships have strict rules regarding drones so be sure to check on those. Please point us to the authority that shows that most of the coastline is wildlife protected. I don't see that on B4UFlY or DJI's map .....

 

[akdrone]

I see that in Ketchikan the airport is across the water from the Port and it appears you could easily get permission to fly from the docks which are in an authorization zone that you could get permission for quite easily. I'm not 100% sure of that but that's how it appears to me As an aside I have had the opportunity to land in Ketchikan in a small plane with circumstances that required me to literally kiss the ground in thanks for making it to land . Similarly Sitka is red over the airport area but much of the docks are not and should be flyable. I don't know where the cruise ships land but if B4UFLY gives the OK and if you get permission from DJI you are good to go.

 

[akdrone]

Welcome to the forum, btw. There are several Alaskan videos at my youtube channel you might enjoy seeing. https://www.youtube.com/@digibud/videos although none from the deep south...

 

[moldorf]

I see that in Ketchikan the airport is across the water from the Port and it appears you could easily get permission to fly from the docks which are in an authorization zone that you could get permission for quite easily. I'm not 100% sure of that but that's how it appears to me As an aside I have had the opportunity to land in Ketchikan in a small plane with circumstances that required me to literally kiss the ground in thanks for making it to land . Similarly Sitka is red over the airport area but much of the docks are not and should be flyable. I don't know where the cruise ships land but if B4UFLY gives the OK and if you get permission from DJI you are good to go.

lol...yeah, landing in Sitka, Ketchikan, and Juneau can definitely test your sphincter muscles, especially in winter. The approaches can be scary. I can't remember if it was Sitka or Ketchikan but one approach and landing loosened fillings in teeth. It was about a 90 minute layover and about 2 out of 3 people on board got off and went to the airport bar...for doubles...followed by doubles

 

[akdrone]

When we landed we fueled up and the fellow said "interesting..I though this plane took 100gal (No clue as to actually how much). The pilot said, "yeah...that's correct" and he said "I just put 110 gal in (or whatever the real number was). Our gas gauge had been showing empty for an easy 20min and we were moving the wings up and down to try to ensure we got every drop. There were hours of serious weather issues prior to that. Two kids in the rear seats were oblivious. We flew the rest of the way on a commercial flight.